A word processor (20) for Chinese characters has a display (25) and a keyboard (22) containing eight entry keys (31 to 38), each of which represents one of the character stroke forms used in Chinese character writing. A character memory unit (24) stores the characters in the form of strings of character stroke form codes, along with the conventional stroke entry order. Entry keys (31 to 38) are pressed in the conventional stroke entry order, and characters not including strokes in the entered order are discarded by a selection process until the desired character or a small selection of characters is defined. The stroke count of a character can be used as a search criterion for the character to be entered.